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Villages

Visiting a village in the Peak District and Derbyshire can make for a quaint, cosy and above all, relaxing day out. A country village can be the perfect escape from busy city life, with their many traditional tea rooms, pubs and independent shops to browse, you can easily spend a day wandering around, taking in the local atmosphere.

Some of the most well-known villages in Derbyshire and the Peak District are Eyam, Edensor and Castleton

Eyam, also known as the ‘plague village’, is known for its tragic history but loved for its picturesque village scenery and nearby countryside. The part of Eyam’s history that is best known is for being a ‘quarantined village’ during the time of the plague. Many people perished as a result of this but the village’s Priest persuaded villagers that it would be for the greater good if the disease was not to spread further. It is due to this that outside Eyam’s many cottages there are plaques dedicated to the story of the people who lived and died in them. When you walk through the countryside on the other side of the cottages, you can see ‘boundary stones’, which have holes in designed for putting money soaked in vinegar in exchange for supplies left by surrounding farmers or merchants. This interesting yet beautiful village is definitely worth a visit.

Edensor is also a wonderful village to explore, and not least because it is the closest village to Chatsworth House. Edensor is your quintessential chocolate-box village, and is a 5 mile walk from the town of Bakewell, a walk which takes you through the Chatsworth Estate. There’s a very charming tea room there too, so you can finish your walk with some tea and cake!

One village in the heart of the Peak District is Castleton, surrounded by some of the best walks in the country is Castleton. It has everything you could want from a village- wonderful traditional pubs, shops selling local items, a beautiful stream and homemade cake! There are also some great show caverns for you to explore.

There are loads of fantastic villages in the Peak District and Derbyshire so use the search below and find the one you want to visit next:

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Shardlow is situated 8 miles south east of Derby and was once a considerable inland port on the River Trent. The area has many inns and restaurants and the canal and river have been extensively developed for leisure use.

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A remote hill village surrounded by magnificent hills and dales overlooking the Upper Dove Valley. Just five miles south of Buxton, this is a spot worth finding. Few villages have such spectacular scenery on their doorstep.

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Derbyshire, DE7 4QA

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01773 570222

A more peaceful and pleasant spot than Dale Abbey is hard to find in the whole of Derbyshire. Yet it is less than three miles from the suburbs of Derby to the west, and even closer to a vast area of housing and industrialisation on the east

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Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, HD9 2QG

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01484 222444

West Yorkshire

The Holme Valley, stretching south from Huddersfield, is punctuated by characterful little villages, traditionally reliant on the textile industries, the village of Holme is almost the last outpost of civilisation on the A6024.

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The village of Barrow Hill grew up around the collieries and ironworks owned by Richard Barrow, known locally as Staveley Works. Today the collieries are closed and the village is better known for the Barrow Hill Roundhouse Railway Centre.

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Derbyshire, SK17 0AS

Telephone:

01335 343666

A pretty village at the northern end of Dovedale, the village is set in some of the very best walking country. The scenery in and around this charming old limestone village is outstanding. The village is centred around the spacious square.

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A lovely stone built estate village on a steep hillside with stunning panoramic views over spectacular scenery. The Thornhill family of Stanton Hall built much of the village for its' estate workers and it is a very attractive place.

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Derbyshire, DE45 1QF

Telephone:

01629 816555

Picturesque Ashford in the Water's much-photographed medieval Sheepwash Bridge has been named by national tourist board VisitEngland as the best location in the country to play the popular family pursuit of Poohsticks.

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A tiny, remote hamlet set in glorious dales scenery. Gratton is really a group of scattered farms and isolated cottages set in narrow lanes the between Elton and Youlgreave. Some of the buildings are surprisingly grand.

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A pretty little hamlet with some spectacular scenery nearby. Just off the A6 between Buxton and Bakewell, this is essentially an agricultural settlement. It provides some good facilities for the holiday-maker, with caravan and camp sites.

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Nr Cheadle, Staffordshire, ST10 2DQ

Staffordshire

The pleasant countryside in which it stands and its proximity to Alton Towers makes this an ideal place to stay for people wishing to combine a visit to the theme park with walks in the beautiful countyside of the Staffordshire Moorlands.

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A pretty village in the peaceful rolling countryside south east of Ashbourne. Just off the A52 Ashbourne to Derby road, Shirley is a small attractive village, comfortably grouped around a lovely church.

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Derby, DE72 3RJ

Ockbrook is an attractive, quiet village, the old part of Ockbrook was established by the Anglo Saxons, around the 6th century, and a new part, the Moravian Settlement was founded in 1750, It is one of only three in the country.

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A very pretty hamlet between Great Longstone and the famous viewpoint at Monsal Head. The grey limestone cottages are a riot of floral colour in the summer in this quiet little place three miles from Bakewell.